Motivated by teammates, Mike Rhodes views RFA 10 as final step to UFC

Why? Because he’s surrounded by a team of them each time he walks into the gym for training.

When the name of Team Roufusport is brought up in conversation, most immediately think of UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, his brother Sergio, Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren and longtime UFC mainstay Alan Belcher.

One fighter who helps all those names prepare, though, is Rhodes (5-1), an up-and-comer from Iowa who always is in the gym helping his big-name training partners get ready for their fights.

But on Saturday, Rhodes will get his own opportunity to shine when he fights Alan Jouban in the main event of RFA 10, which takes place Friday at Hy Vee Hall inside Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. The main card airs live on AXS TV, and Rhodes vs. Jouban will determine the organization’s inaugural welterweight champion.

Rhodes is very aware of the additional attention on his team due to their breakout of recent success, and he’s determined to keep the momentum going to prove why the Milwaukee-based training center is one of the best in the world.

“We’ve known how good we can be and how good we are for a while now, and now the world is just beginning to see it because we’re putting on great performances in our fights,” Rhodes told MMAjunkie.com. “People want to see us fight more than anything, and being part of Roufusport brings a little pressure and that’s what makes us perform.”

While most spectators only get to see the finished product of fighters on the night they compete, most of the real work is done behind closed doors.

Rhodes believes the gym has a special camaraderie, and that’s ultimately why the fighters are able to perform at such a high level.

“If you’re just some guy, you can get away with these half-assed performances, but as a Roufusport fighter, you can’t get away with that,” Rhodes said. “You have to turn it up, and we’re all family men so we feed off each other. When one of us do good, all of us do good and that’s the confidence we bring to one another.”

Rhodes is hopeful the confidence of his team’s success will carry over when he takes on Jouban (7-1), a fighter who possesses a skill set similar to Rhodes in that he prefers to keep his fights standing and exchange punches.

The last time Rhodes was featured in an RFA main event, now-UFC fighter Brandon Thatch submitted him in a little more than two minutes in what is his only career defeat.

Despite the fact he took the fight on short notice, Rhodes is aware he didn’t show up at his best that night and is eager to prove he can perform under the spotlight and is deserving of main event status.

“I want everyone to see that I can handle the pressure, I can handle the limelight.” Rhodes said. “When I get a full training camp and I prepare for fights, I don’t lose.”

For Rhodes, his next fight is more significant than any other due to the fact a win could be the stepping-stone needed to join his teammates in the UFC.

RFA has openly stated its intentions to be an unofficial feeder league for the UFC, and Rhodes believes that given his situation, the right kind of performance will move him to the next level of the sport, where he believes he can defeat anyone in his weight class.

“I hope that if I finish this kid in a flashy and exciting matter then the UFC will come knocking,” Rhodes said. “They know just from the reputation of my teammates and everyone in my gym from my head coach all the way down, we’re exciting fighters, we’re skilled everywhere and we put on exciting fights and finish people.

“I think if I can do that against an opponent the caliber of Jouban, then I deserve a shot at the UFC. I believe I can beat anyone that tips the scale at 170 pounds.”

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

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